The Record Special Sections Health Quarterly 07-28-2019 | Page 6

6 ❚ SUNDAY, JULY 28, 2019 ❚ THE RECORD
HEALTH QUARTERLY / ADVERTISING SECTION
Advanced Endometrial Cancer Study in Phase 3
I
f you are one of
the nearly 60,000
women diagnosed
with cancer of the
endometrium – the lin-
ing of the uterus – each
year, take comfort in
knowing that the disease is often success-
fully treated with surgery. For those with
more advanced cases that require further
therapy, there is also good news.
A clinical study that combines two medi-
cations in the treatment of advanced endo-
metrial cancer has shown such favorable
results in Phase 2 of the clinical trials that
the federal Drug and Food Administration
(FDA) has given it special designation
through the approval process. This should
accelerate the review and final approval of
the medications. Holy Name Medical Center
was the first site in the U.S. to offer Phase
3 of the clinical trial and is the only location
in New Jersey.
The trial is to determine whether a
combination of the drugs Lenvima and
Keytruda provides significant improvement
over standard treatment. Dr. Sharyn Lewin,
medical director of Gynecologic Oncology
at Holy Name, is the principal investigator
and her Holy Name colleague, Dr. Maria
Schiavone, is sub-investigator of the trial.
“We are thrilled to provide our patients
with access to this cutting-edge interna-
tional Phase 3 trial, an investigational com-
bination that has shown such promise in
the Phase 2 studies,” Dr. Lewin said. “Many
patients saw a significant improvement
in the way their tumors responded to the
therapy and we hope to help a number of
women from all over the New York area.”
The FDA granted the trial “breakthrough
therapy designation,” which means it was
found to pro-
vide significant
improvement over
current therapies.
This was based
on a study of
53 patients that
showed tumors
responded in nearly
40 percent of
patients after 24
weeks. After six
Dr. Sharyn Lewin,
months or more,
medical director of
83 percent had
Gynecologic Oncology
positive responses
at Holy Name
and about 65
Medical Center.
patients were still
showing significant improvement after
a year or longer.
Keytruda is an immunology drug that
blocks the ability of cancer cells to hide
from the immune system’s T-cells, which
serve as the body’s natural defense
against infections and diseases. It has been
successful in extending the lives of patients
with melanoma, lung cancer and several
other types of cancer.
Lenvima is a targeted treatment
believed to block signals that help blood
vessels grow. These blood vessels are es-
sential for the tumor’s survival and growth.
“We are so excited to offer this clinical
trial to our patients and serve such a large
unmet need,” Dr. Lewin said.
Patients with advanced endometrial
cancer should discuss the possibility of par-
ticipating in one of these trials with their
oncologists. For more information, call Holy
Name Clinical Research at 201-541-6312 or
go to https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/
NCT03884101?term=keytruda%2C+lenvim
a&cond=Endometrial+Cancer&rank=2.
Cognitive Help for MS Patients at Holy Name
M
any people with multiple sclerosis
suffer with some symptoms that
are seldom discussed and often
overlooked by their physician:
mental health issues and cognitive decline.
Their doctors, if not MS specialists,
may be unaware that about 50 percent of
patients with MS experience some type of
memory problem, depression or anxiety. In
turn, many patients don’t realize their cog-
nitive issues are related to the disease.
“Cognitive issues like memory decline
and depression happen to a large number
of MS patients and it significantly affects
their quality of life,” said Dr. Fred Foley,
director of Neuropsychology at Holy Name
Medical Center. “This can lead to job loss,
not taking medications properly and rela-
tionship difficulties.”
The underlying problem, Dr. Foley said,
is a huge shortage of mental health pro-
fessionals to treat MS patients. Many don’t
know how to diagnose and treat cognitive
issues in this patient population.
Holy Name, known as a leader in MS
care, is taking the helm in addressing
this shortage with a program that is the
first of its kind in the country. Dr. Foley is
facilitating a fellowship program that he
developed with June Halper, the CEO of the
Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers.
The fellowship is funded by a grant from
END Serono, a pharmaceutical company
and will be conducted at the MS Center at
Holy Name this month.
Four mental health professionals will
spend a week shadowing Dr. Foley, listen-
ing to lectures on mental health and cogni-
tive issues in MS patients and spend time
PHOTO COURTESY OF HOLY NAME MEDICAL CENTER
Dr. Fred Foley, director of Neuropsychology and Dr. Mary Ann Picone, director of the
MS Center at Holy Name Medical Center reviewing a patient’s scan.
with Dr. Mary Ann Picone, medical director
of the MS Center. Applicants from across
the country applied for the program.
The participants will learn how to ad-
minister cognitive tests to assess and treat
depression or anxiety. They will also be
given tips to teach their own patients how
to improve memory, such as associating a
visual image to a person’s name when they
are first introduced.
“Visual images use a different part of
the brain than language-based learning so
encouraging the use of both to learn and
remember new material is one way for
patients to work around the damage to the
brain caused by the disease,” Dr. Foley said.
MS occurs when the immune system
attacks myelin, the protective coating
around nerve fibers. It affects each person
differently, but some common physical
symptoms are numbness, problems walk-
ing, spasticity, fatigue, stiffness and vision
problems. It also causes slowed processing
speed (sluggish thinking), and trouble with
memory, attention, visual judgement and
problem solving. Fortunately, most of the
cognitive issues tend to be mild to moder-
ate, and severe problems are relatively rare.
The MS Center at Holy Name is known
for its comprehensive care, including diag-
nosing and treating physical, as well as
mental health and cognitive decline. It also
offers clinical trials, where patients can
often access therapies not yet available to
the general public.
“When we treat our MS patients, we
make sure we address all their needs –
physical, emotional and mental, and finding
therapists who are experienced in dealing
with MS has been challenging,” Dr. Picone
said. “This program will help fill the need
for therapists who have more expertise
with these patients.”